Part ONE: Interventions forStudents who Have Been Victimized

Little Rock, ArkansasJuly 2012

Site Administration Prevention

• Step ONE: Create a Host Environment of Positivity Trust and Connection(TIER !) and have available a series of evidence based TIER 2 interventions and TIER III interventions

• Step TWO: Have an interview protocol to INVESTIGATE

• Step TWO: Discipline and Support all parties• Step THREE: Written documentation: “If it isn’t

written down, it didn’t happen”

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Preventing Further BullyingWhat is our goal in Bully Prevention?

• Less bullying, or less overall aggression and violence?

– Less support by bystanders?

– Less bullying and victimization?

• Bullying interventions for the latter appear to be effective when implemented with a select group of students who are actually involved in bullying

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The A.R.M.S. Mantra

Assess, Refer, Monitor, Support

• Provides legal protection– Addresses perceived willing indifference issues

• Addresses both students who bully and victim’s needs• Includes documentation

See:Bully FlowchartHarassment Documentation Form

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Bully BehaviorsTiers of Intervention Solutions

• Universal – School-wide intervention designed to address school

culture and entire student body• Not solely a bully prevention program, rather, a broad

based PBIS and Tiers of Interventions• Bystanders are highly affected by PBIS for ALL violence,

destructive behavior, vandalism, and overall aggression

• Selected or Targeted– Intensive intervention delivered to individual students

who are involved in bullying as either bully or victim

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Effects of School Tier 1 Culture/Climate that support victims/bullies

• A complex matrix of • adult attitudes, beliefs, and feelings about the school; • interpersonal relationships within the school; • values and norms, particularly in relation to resolving

interpersonal conflict; and codes of behavior (Cook, Murphy, & Hunt, 2000).

• School climate, as well as classroom climate, has a profound impact on the nature and extent of school-associated violence

(Barrios et al., 2001; McEvoy & Welker, 2000; Sprott, 2004).

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Effects of School Tier 1 Culture/Climate

• Peer and adult norms that reinforce or passively ignore minor forms of aggressive behavior act to sustain bullying behavior

(Greene, 2000) • School climate also can affect the degree to which students

are emotionally attached to their school (an empirically verified protective factor) as well as levels of commitment to violence prevention and peace promotion efforts

(Gottfredson, 2001).

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Effects of School Tier 1 Culture/Climate• An underlying theme in the literature on school social climate

is the importance of connectedness and trust among students, teachers, parents, and administrators (Barrios et al., 2001; Fein et al., 2002; Resnick et al., 1997).

• The establishment of trust between students and adults maximizes the chances that students will confide in school staff when they are experiencing a school or personal problem, enabling staff members to provide appropriate help.

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Effects of School Tier 1 Culture/Climate• Strong leadership at the district and school levels and commitment to a “communal” orientation or “ethos of caring” are necessary ingredients in effecting positive climate change (Gottfredson, 2001).

• Some universal programs adopt a broad-based systems approach, with training and guidance for all key stakeholders in a school

system, weaving program concepts into the everyday life at the school, such as:

• Olweus’s Bullying Prevention Program,• The Seattle Social Development Program, • PeaceBuilders program,

• The latter two emphasizing cooperative learning activities and the promotion of prosocial student and teacher behavioral norms as critical programatic features

(Flannery et al., 2003; Hawkins, Farrington, & Catalano, 1998; Olweus & Limber, 1999). 9

Tiers of Intervention

• Universal Tier 1 – School-wide intervention designed to address school

culture and entire student body• Opinion: Anti bullying curriculum is not in and of itself

sufficient to create a positive host environment of respect, safety and responsibility . Look to Behavioral RTI literature

• Selected Tier 2 or Targeted Tier 3– Intensive intervention delivered to select group of

students who are involved in bullying as either bully or victim

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School Staff Responsibilities

• Do not ignore mean-spirited teasing, bullying and aggression, social exclusions, cyber bullying

• Do not ignore students with anxiety and depressive or withdraw symptoms

Bring these students to the attention of a school based team

Implement a solid Tier One environment

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Tier 3ResistantTo Tier 2,

ContinuingBullying or

victimization

Tier 2Small Group &

Individual Strategies

Probably necessary for bullies andvictims

TIER 1(All Students)

School/classwide, Culturally Relevant Systems of Support addresses host

Environment, establishes “no put downs” school culture, may reduce new cases and bystanders

Tier 3 Menu of Individual Supports for a FEW:• FBA-based Behavior Intervention Plan• Home and Community Supports• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Tier 2 Menu of Default Supports for SOME:• Behavioral contracting• Small group social emotional learning

or social skills (victims/internalizers)• School-home note• Mentor-based program• Positive peer reporting

Tier I Menu of Supports for ALL:• Schoolwide PBIS• SEL curriculum• Good behavior game• 16 Proactive classroom

management components• Anti-bullying policy and curricula

Menu of supports forBullies and victims

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Student who bullies Students who are victims

Discipline, involve parents then establish open door policy and continue the connection, progressive freedom

Establish open door policy, involve parents and continue the connection

Tier 2 choices Tier 2 choices Behavior contracts Positive Peer Reporting

School home notes (limited: School home notes)

Structured mentoring e.g., Check In/Check Out

Structured mentoring e.g., Check In/Check Out

Tier 3 choices Small group social emotional learning curricula or social skills training

Function-based BIP Tier 3 choices

Cognitive Behavior Therapy Function-based BIP

Family wrap around Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Family wrap around13

Structured Mentoring

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Mentor-Based Support•Check in/Check Out•Check, Connect, and Expect•Check and Connect

• Assignment of adult mentor who provides unconditional positive regard and feedback

• Multiple behavioral components:•Behavioral momentum• Precorrection• Performance feedback• Positive reinforcement•Goal specification and attainment

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Simple versus Structured Mentoring

• Mentor meets with the child once or twice a week

• Mentor is there to be a positive role model-doesn’t provide pre correction

• Can handle significantly more students

Simple MentoringStructured Mentoring

• Mentor meets with the child on a daily basis

• Mentor pre corrects problem behavior

• Daily ratings of behavior performance

• Limitations with regard to the number of students a school can handle

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Morning check in with mentor

End of day check out with mentor

Teacher evaluation and ongoing

feedback

Parent Check In upon arrival home

Sequence of Structured Mentoring• Positive greeting• Check for school readiness• Cutoff problems before• Reminder of expected behaviors• Talk about reward to be earned• Give student monitoring chart

• Teacher monitoring• Prompts to engage in expected behavior• Reminder of reward to be earned

• Positive greeting• Deliver praise/reward• Provide nonjudgmental feedback

• Deliver consequences at home based on behavior at school• Provide encouragement for a better day tomorrow

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Positive Peer Reporting

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Positive Peer Reporting• Designed to enhance the social status and

interaction skills of peer rejected or isolated youth

– Can also be used to alter a negative peer ecology that is characterized by put downs, tattling, or aggressive behavior

• The intervention rewards youth for providing genuine and specific positive peer reports about a target student who is peer rejected or isolated youth

– The target youth is identified as the “MVP”

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The MVP (Most Valuable Person)

• MVP is the student in the class who is identified to be the recipient of positive peer reports

– Rig it to make it look like the selection of the MVP was a random process (e.g., pick name out of a hat)

• The student will remain as the MVP for a minimum of two days to a maximum of a week.

• The teacher will select a new MVP each week• The name of the MVP should be prominently displayed in the class for the other students to see

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Preparing for PPR

• Must teach students how to give positive peer reports (compliments)

• Positive peer reports consist of talking about what the MVP:• Did (behaviors)• Said (verbal interaction)• Achieved/earned

• Positive reports can be done directly or anonymously• Second hand compliments are often more powerful

• Find a time to solicit positive peer reports• 5 to 15 minutes of class time

• Identify the class rewards that can be earned and method of tracking progress toward goal attainment

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Class wide Systems to Cue, Shape and Model Behavior: Strategies for Teachers

• “Pit Crews” as a PPRUse peers to support student with problem behavior

+ ?www.pent.ca.gov22

Victim Personal Characteristics, Outcomes

• Victim students with disabilities can be at less risk if they understand and exhibit appropriate social behaviors that help them avoid being victimized

• If they have difficulty comprehending social cues or applying strategies to avoid victimization, they become targets of bullying.

• Rejection and victimization may lead to anxiety, depression, poor self-esteem, a lack of confidence, and minimal social or academic participation

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TIER 3:Sample Curricula

• Coping Cat: For internalizing students suffering from anxiety (often co-occurring with victimization) – Coping Cat is CBT program developed by Dr. Philip Kendall

designed to get students to recognize and examine their anxious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and learn methods of coping with anxiety-provoking situations.

– Several studies have evaluated the Coping Cat program and shown that it is associated with decreased symptoms of anxiety and improved functioning (Flannery-Schroeder & Kendall, 2000; Kendall et al., 1994).

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TIER 3: Sample Curricula

• Coping with Stress Course: For internalizing students suffering from depression– a CBT program designed for adolescents demonstrating

depressive symptoms (e.g., loss of interest in activities, lethargy, behavioral inactivitiy, irritability, etc.).

– involves systematic activities to aid adolescents in restructuring their thoughts by learning to recognize and dispute faulty, illogical thoughts that are associated with depressive behaviors. The CWS can be downloaded for free from http://www.kpchr.org/public/acwd/acwd.html).

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THE VICTIM HAS AN IEP!!! AAGH!

CheckForHarassment

Personal Characteristics

• Victims with disabilities often are characterized as having poor social skills – Students may be victimized because they are too passive

or exhibit timid responses that may reinforce bullying behavior.

– Victims may also misread nonverbal communication or misinterpret nonthreatening cues.

– Victims with disabilities also maintain few close friendships or have unstable relationships.

– Lack of social networks deprives the victim of a substantial social protection base

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Solutions Suggested for Victims with IEPs

• Students who understand and accept their disability are more accepting of diversity among their classmates, develop friendships, and are victimized at lower rates.

• Students develop four methods for coping with victimization. (a) hide from the bully, (b) work hard academically to catch up with peers, (c) fight back, and/or (d) attempt to explain their disability to the aggressor.

• But, (a) positive self-concept, (b)adequate social skills, (c) academic independence, (d) social confidence, (e) quality friend base, and (f) school enjoyment serve as protection against victimization

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IEP Team Consideration for Student with IEP who is Victimized

Consideration of Special Factors: Does the behavior (e.g., internalizing behaviors following bullying) impede learning of the student or peers? Are positive behavioral interventions strategies and supports necessary to maintain LRE?

Did tier 2 interventions fail to address the problem?

If Tier 2 ineffective, consider a BIP for behaviors that are a consequence of being bullied

Consider Related Service needed to benefit from Special

Education: Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Anxiety/Depression or

Trauma-Focused Therapy

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Proactive: How to find both Bullies and Victims

• Anonymous Reporting

• Peer Nomination

• Students (bystanders and victims) coming to teachers, counselors or administrators

• Teachers or staff or other adults directly observing bullying

• Parents alerting school based on their child’s report

• Results of RTI Universal Screening for Externalizing Behavior generatesstudents with aggression, and some may engage in bully behavior

• Results of Universal Screening for Internalizing Behavior generates studentswith anxiety, depression, and some may be victims of bullying

• Sociometric studies may yield student perceptions of bullies and victims 30

Proactive: Who are the victims?

• Sociometric Survey• Name three people you would like to “hang out with” (or

play with for younger students• Name three people you would like to work on a school

project with• Name any student(s) you think are getting“put down”• Name any people you think are frequently “putting down”

any student you name(Look for omissions (loners) and repeated names)

• http://www.tolerance.org/activity/bullying-survey

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Systematic Elimination of Bullying• Define bullying for students and families or you will find all

aggression, teasing, put-downs gets named “bullying”. Bullying is a subset of aggressive behaviors!

• Focus on whole school climate: RTI• Systematic playground supervision: www.lookiris.com See youtube from University of Virginia project (2 min.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6lBeN8OmS4• Teach counselors the interview skills necessary for interviewing

potential victimsSee youtube from University of Virginia project (30 min. for staff on how to interview potential victims effectively) http://youtu.be/UCeV3qJL7IU

Take Home Messages• Bullying / harassment of any type creates a breeding ground for threats,

behavior problems and high discipline referral rates• Proactively address bullying with discipline and a graduated sequence of

supports for all parties with Tier II or III interventions• Inform staff and monitor all cases of bullying• Use the bully flowchart as an office procedure • Use Harassment investigation form as needed, to document bullying is

or is not harassment, but always if the student has protected class status (disability, religion, sexualized bullying, sexual orientation (perceived or actual), ethnicity or racial put-downs

• For threats of violence, see the training on www.pent.ca.gov and use the 11 inquiry area form if student is found to pose a threat (making a threat is not the same as posing a threat: Safe School Initiative, www.doe.gov

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